A large number of reefs within the inner granitic islands of the archipelago of Seychelles could be entirely lost, unless concerted action is taken soon to control crown of thorns, warns Dr. Udo Englhardt, the expert on on the management of crown of thorns in a...
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Mahé Island
Mahé is the largest island of Seychelles. Mahé has an area of 154 sq.km, and is 28 km long, 8 km wide. It is also home to the smallest capital city in the world, Victoria, which accommodates 77,000 people which is 86% of the country’s total population. All visitors to the Seychelles will begin their journey from here.
Morne Seychellois is the tallest peak in this island.
Seychelles International Airport opened here in 1971. In the southern and western parts of the island there are Baie Ternay Marine National Park, Port Launay Marine National Park, and University of Seychelles. The Sainte Anne Marine National Park lies offshore, as do Conception Island, Thérèse Island, Anonyme Island and several smaller islands.
The Port of Victoria is home to a tuna fishing and canning industry. From 1963 to 1996 the United States Air Force maintained a satellite control network here at the Indian Ocean Station, where it had a significant impact on the local economy. Mahé is also home to the Seychelles’ governmental and administrative centre.
The centre of the island has imposing peaks and clouded forests with diverse flora and fauna, giving life to the island’s numerous hiking trails. Countless freshwater springs characterise the rich nature of the island, while tropical palms and other plants also grow throughout this region, including mango, papaya, banana, tea, and more.
Beau Vallon is the best beach in the island, which is almost as bustling as the capital itself. Numerous accommodation options, restaurants, shops, and diving centres can be found in this sprawling bay. Sainte Anne Marine National Park is about 5 km from here. This area offers excellent snorkelling conditions, with a great variety of flora and fauna to be seen, especially in the Sainte Anne Channel, which runs between Sainte Anne Island and Moyenne Island, and, for this reason, this is the destination of many tours.
Aldabra Atoll
The Aldabra is a giant tortoise and is endemic to the islands of the Aldabra Atoll in the Seychelles.
Aldabra atoll comprises four large coral islands which enclose a shallow lagoon; the group of islands is itself surrounded by a coral reef. Due to difficulties of access and the atoll’s isolation, Aldabra has been protected from human influence and thus retains some 152,000 giant tortoises, the world’s largest population of this reptile. Since 1982, the atoll has been a part of the UNESCO World Heritage List.
The only residents of the atoll are a few researchers, carrying out work on behalf of the Seychelles Islands Foundation. Tourists may only visit the island as part of a cruise day trip and with permission.
This atoll has the largest colony of wild giant tortoises in the world. In total, there are around 150,000 tortoises here. Hawksbill turtles and green sea turtles, both of which live in the ocean, come to the beach to lay their eggs, where they likely encounter the tiny 60 cm coconut crabs.
Abundant bird species, including flamingos, frigate birds, herons, Aldabra white-throated crakes (unable to fly), tropical red-tail birds, sunbirds, ibises, sea-swallows, Aldabra drongos, and many other feathered creatures live and nest here, with 97 endemic species in total. Eight different species of mangroves are found on the island, providing plenty of natural habitat for the birds.
The flying fox is the only native mammal to the archipelago.The Aldabra snail, once thought to have died out, was re-discovered in 2014 during a survey. Besides shrubs and bushes, most of which are no more than three or four metres tall, there are 40 different flowering plants here.
Drift-diving through the channels in the atoll’s lagoon allows one to get up-close and personal with doctor fish, snappers, and mantas, as well as black-tip sharks, dolphins, and manatees.
Bird Island
Bird Island is found on the northernmost part of Seychelles, about 100 km away from Mahé. Sooty Tern, consisting of 700,000 pairs, forms the largest bird colony on the island. Fairy terns, common noddies, hawksbill and green turtles are other colonies found in this island. The island is 1,500 metres long and 800 metres wide. To get here, you need to take a thirty-minute flight from Mahé.
It is now a private resort with 24 self-catering villas chalet-villas. The island is owned by Alex Savy who lives there. It also contains a small weather station and a small landing strip Bird Island Airport which connects the island with Mahe.
The chalets are, without any air-conditioning, phones, and televisions, for tourists, which nevertheless offer a brilliant ocean view and make for an outstanding stay. The proceeds from the privately-run Bird Island Lodge benefit the island’s nature. The island does not have a pool, cars, roads, or even daily newspapers. There is a shop and restaurant to cater to guest’s needs. Meals are served at the restaurant in the main lodge area and guests can enjoy a drink at the on-site bar.
Because the island is surrounded by beaches, it is safe for turtles to come and nest here. Their nesting routine, which takes place under cover of darkness, must not be disturbed, and neither must the young turtles that hatch around sixty days later. Therefore, visitors stick to the lit paths in front of the bungalows.
Between April and October, hundreds of thousands of sooty terns nest there.
Moyenne Island
Moyenne Island is a small 24 acre island in the Ste Anne Marine National Park off the north coast of Mahé, Seychelles. Since the 1970s it has been a flora and fauna reserve. In the 1960s, a former newspaper editor, Brendon Grimshaw purchased it for about 10,000 dollars. Until his death in July 2012. He was the only inhabitant of the island.
He along with his friend, Rene Antoine Lafortune, a Seychellois, operated the island as a nature reserve, charging visitors €12 to come ashore, roam the island, dine at the “Jolly Roger” restaurant and relax on the beach.
Grimshaw and his friend did an enormous amount of work to develop the island to be incredibly beautiful. They planted sixteen thousand trees, built 4.8 kilometres of nature paths, and brought and bred Aldabra giant tortoises. They also brought in 2000 birds.
Grimshaw was the quintessential islander and a devoted lover of nature who poured his love for Moyenne into the island for nearly half a century. He even refused an offer of $50 million for the island, saying that he did not want the island to become a holiday destination for millionaires, but rather a national park for everyone to enjoy.
His friend Lafortune passed away in 2007.
Finally, in June 2008, after years of struggle to protect his island from privatization, Grimshaw’s Moyenne Island was declared a National Park in Seychelles.
In 1996, Grimshaw wrote a book about himself and the island, entitled A Grain of Sand.In 2009, a documentary film was produced about Grimshaw and the island, called A Grain of Sand.It is now known as the Moyenne Island National Park and forms part of the Ste. Anne Marine National Park just north of the capital Victoria. It has more species per square foot than any other part of the world.
There is a restaurant on the beach which is a haven for tourists.
Seychelles Dives
Silhouette Island lies 20 km northwest of Mahé in the Seychelles. It is the third largest granite island in the Seychelles. It has an area of 20.1 sq.km. The main settlement is La Passe, where the Hilton Hotel is located. The name Silhouette was given in 1771 after the French minister of finances under Louis XV, Étienne de Silhouette. The French were, from this point on, closely intertwined with the history of the island, especially the Dauban family, who gradually acquired the whole island, clearing the forest to cultivate cinnamon, vanilla, coffee, and especially coconuts. During this time they employed up to 1000 workers on the plantation. The mausoleum of the Dauban family is found amidst the plantation. They were wealthy and powerful.
Many of the villagers have left the island and so most of the population is made up of conservationists and hotel staff numbering about 200.
The planter’s old house in La Passe was renovated, and the stylish colonial mansion now serves as one of the seven restaurants of the island’s villa hotels, offering Creole cuisine to island guests.
In 1983, the island was purchased by the state from a French Group which owned it at that time, and now it belongs to the Seychelles Island Development Company. Following this a small hotel was constructed. and this was later replaced by the larger Labriz Resort which was then bought by the Hilton hotel group.
The interior region of Silhouette is a national park, with hundreds of endemic birds, reptiles, and plants. In one of the island’s own breeding stations, two species of turtle which were once considered extinct were re-discovered in 1995, researched, and released.
Hilton Seychelles Labriz Resort and Spa was built in La Passe in 2006, and offers a total of 100 rooms to guests. The island has no roads or cars, but with just a few footpaths and electric carts belonging to the Hilton Seychelles.
Silhouette offers many attractive walking trails with the starting point always in La Passe. Grand Barbe, is a four-hour trek and the path is mostly in the shade of the dense forest, so the temperature is never too hot during the day. The gorgeous Anse Mondon is another attractive destination that is a two hour hike from La Passe.
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